API access to US state political funding data

MoneyInStatePoliticsLogoThe National Institute on Money in State Politics now provides a service where users can submit queries and download data in xml format. The documentation for the service (which requires setting up an account login) is here.

They also include services for generating various graphic reports including a Political Contribution Logorithmic Scatterplot Profile with interactive javascript inspection of candidates.

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I did quick cut-and-paste from another site which uses thier data, and was able to generate network maps of the top tend funders for a few california candidates. But with access to the full DB via the API, it is possible to do much more sophisticated maps and even animations – for most states they have data going back several years.

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BLO turns 5

The Brass Liberation Orchestra celebrated 5 years of playing music in the streets for politics and pleasure. We threw oursevles a party at Balazo Gallery on Mission St. and took a quick tour down to 16th and back. As jamie put it, “we are now ready for kindergarten.”

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In this clip we are playing our arrangement of the Fela Kuti song “Dog Eat Dog.” There are also some photos posted online.